Despite appeals, Centre yet to ease norms as 80% paddy reaches mandis

Even as 80 per cent of the paddy produce has arrived in the state mandis, the Centre is yet to announce its decision on relaxing the specifications for procurement of the grains.

Besides the crop loss on nearly five lakh acres, farmers are also facing problem in selling their crop because of reduced quality due to higher moisture content.

Chief Secretary KAP Sinha has sent several reminders to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in this regard. Even Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has written a DO letter to Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi, asking him to consider Punjab’s request for relaxing specifications for paddy procurement.

The paddy crop this year has suffered damage because of the untimely post-monsoon showers and floods that ravaged the state in August-September.

Central team collected samples last month

Two teams of officials were sent by the Centre on October 13 to collect samples of the grains to assess the damage after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on September 30, seeking relief.

A formal letter was also written by the Punjab Government to the Union Governemnt on October 12, seeking relaxations.

Government sources told The Tribune that though the Central teams had collected crop samples from 19 districts of Punjab, to be tested in the laboratories of the Food Corporation of India, no decision on relaxation had been conveyed so far to the state.

“Though we have not been formally intimated about the extent of damage to grains, informally, we have been told that around 30 per cent grains had been discoloured in the rain-affected areas. We are hopeful that the decision on relaxations will be conveyed soon,” said a senior state government official.

Around 127 lakh metric tonnes paddy has already arrived in the state mandis. The paddy procurement season is expected to end in another 10 days and the government expects to procure another 18-20 lakh metric tonnespaddy.

Though initially a target to procure 175 lakh metric tonnes paddy was set, the recent floods and rains have hit the production in the state.

Protecting farmers’ income

If the paddy procured is not in accordance with the specifications as regards colour, moisture and damaged grains, the farmers face a cut in the price (MSP) for their produce

To ensure that the farmers’ income is not hit, the state wants the Centre to relax specifications because the damage to grains this year is due to a natural calamity